OUTER BANKS
Things to do
Our shortlist, sorted by the kind of day you're having. Drive times are from our Nags Head homes (NH) and from Corolla (C). ★ marks our favorites.
Beaches & Nature
BEACHES & NATURE · NH 10 MIN · C 55 MIN
Jockey's Ridge State Park ★
The tallest natural sand dune on the East Coast, right in Nags Head, and free. Climb it barefoot in the last hour before sunset, when the sand cools and the light goes gold over the sound. Kite flying, sandboarding, and hang gliding lessons all happen here.
BEACHES & NATURE · NH 1H · C 5 MIN
The Corolla Wild Horses ★
About 100 Banker horses, descended from Spanish mustangs, roam the 4x4 beaches north of where the road ends in Corolla. Go with a guided tour unless you have a true 4x4; the guides know where the herd is that day. Stay 50 feet back, it is the law, and never feed them.
BEACHES & NATURE · NH 25 MIN · C 1H 20
Pea Island National Wildlife Refuge
Thirteen miles of undeveloped barrier island south of Oregon Inlet, with flat trails around freshwater ponds, a visitor center, and some of the East Coast's best birding in fall and winter. Free, quiet, and a different Outer Banks entirely.
BEACHES & NATURE · NH 10 MIN · C 50 MIN
Nags Head Woods Preserve
A Nature Conservancy maritime forest tucked behind Kill Devil Hills, with shaded trails, freshwater ponds, and sound overlooks. The place to walk when the beach wind is up or the sun is too much.
BEACHES & NATURE · NH 15 MIN · C 1H 10
Coquina Beach
The first national seashore beach south of Nags Head: wide, lifeguarded in summer, with a bathhouse and free parking. Bring the gear from the house and stay all day. Beach fires are allowed here with a free park permit.
BEACHES & NATURE · NH 1H · C 5 MIN
Currituck Banks Reserve Boardwalk
A short boardwalk through maritime forest to the edge of the Currituck Sound, at the very end of the paved road in Corolla. Twenty quiet minutes, good birds, and a sunset spot that never gets crowded.
Landmarks & History
LANDMARKS & HISTORY · NH 15 MIN · C 45 MIN
Wright Brothers National Memorial
The field in Kill Devil Hills where powered flight began in 1903, with the first-flight markers, a full-size replica of the Flyer in the visitor center, and the monument on the dune. $10 for ages 16 and up, free under 16, cashless, open daily 9 to 5.
LANDMARKS & HISTORY · NH 15 MIN · C 1H 10
Bodie Island Lighthouse
The black-and-white banded tower at the top of the national seashore, with just over 200 steps to a view across the marsh to Oregon Inlet. Climbing runs late April to mid-October, $10 for adults, and tickets are sold online for the same day, so book in the morning.
LANDMARKS & HISTORY · NH 1H · C 5 MIN
Currituck Beach Lighthouse
The unpainted red-brick tower in Corolla village, 220 steps to a view of both the sound and the ocean. Open daily 9 to 5 from March 21 through November 30, $13 to climb for ages 4 and up, paid at the door only. Lines form by late morning in summer.
LANDMARKS & HISTORY · NH 1H 15 · C 2H 15
Cape Hatteras Lighthouse
The tallest brick lighthouse in the country, in Buxton, moved 2,900 feet inland in 1999 to save it from the sea. It is closed for climbing through 2026 while a major restoration finishes, but the grounds and keepers' quarters are open and the drive down Hatteras Island is the point.
LANDMARKS & HISTORY · NH 20 MIN · C 1H 15
Fort Raleigh & The Lost Colony
Where 117 English colonists vanished in 1590 and nobody has explained it since. Walk the earthworks and the Elizabethan Gardens next door by day, then see The Lost Colony, the outdoor drama that has been staged on the waterfront here every summer since 1937.
LANDMARKS & HISTORY · NH 1H · C 5 MIN
Whalehead in Historic Corolla Park
A 1920s hunting mansion on the sound, restored down to the Tiffany lamps, with guided tours and a lawn that hosts summer concerts and the Fourth of July fireworks. The park grounds, boat ramp, and sunset are free.
LANDMARKS & HISTORY · NH 1H 30 · C 2H 30
Graveyard of the Atlantic Museum
In Hatteras Village at the end of the island, a free museum about the thousands of wrecks off this coast, from Civil War ironclads to German U-boats. Pair it with the lighthouse drive and lunch on the docks.
On the Water
ON THE WATER · NH 10 MIN · C 1H
Jennette's Pier
A 1,000-foot concrete pier in Nags Head run by the state aquariums, with fishing, small aquarium exhibits inside, and a walk-on fee of a few dollars for the view. You do not need your own license to fish here; the pier's covers you. Rods can be rented on site.
ON THE WATER · NH 20 MIN · C 1H 15
Oregon Inlet Fishing Center
The charter fleet for the Gulf Stream: tuna, mahi, and marlin offshore, or half-day inshore trips for the kids. Even if you never board a boat, be on the docks around 4:00 PM to watch the fleet come in and the catch go up on the boards.
ON THE WATER · NH 15 MIN · C 1H 10
Dolphin Tours on the Roanoke Sound
Bottlenose dolphins feed in the calm water between Nags Head and Manteo through summer and early fall. Two-hour boat tours leave from the Nags Head causeway; late-afternoon trips get the dolphins and the sunset in one.
ON THE WATER · NH 10 MIN · C 5 MIN
Kayak, Paddleboard & Surf Lessons
Kitty Hawk Kites has run the island's water sports since 1974, with sound-side kayak tours, paddleboard rentals, surf lessons, and kiteboarding, from locations in Nags Head, Duck, and Corolla. The sound is the flat-water option on a windy day.
Family
FAMILY · NH 20 MIN · C 1H 15
North Carolina Aquarium on Roanoke Island
Sea turtles, sharks, a touch tank, and a sea turtle rescue center you can look into, in a shaded spot on the sound in Manteo. The indoor half-day for the family, and busy the moment it rains, so buy tickets online.
FAMILY · NH 10 MIN · C 55 MIN
Hang Gliding at Jockey's Ridge
Beginner lessons off the soft face of the dune, a few feet up and a hundred feet across, for kids and adults alike. It is the same dune the Wrights used for the same reason: steady wind and a forgiving landing.
FAMILY · NH 5 MIN · C 55 MIN
Mini Golf & Go-Karts on the Bypass
The Nags Head bypass is lined with them: Lost Treasure Golf and Mutiny Bay for elaborate mini golf, and Full Throttle Speedway for go-karts. Evenings after the beach, when the heat breaks.
FAMILY · NH 40 MIN · C 1H
H2OBX Waterpark
The Outer Banks waterpark, on the mainland just over the Wright Memorial Bridge in Powells Point. Open in summer only; a full day for kids who have had enough of sand.
Rainy Day
RAINY DAY · NH 15 MIN · C 1H 10
Manteo Waterfront
A small, walkable harbor town with a good bookshop, galleries, coffee, a brewery, and the replica 16th-century ship Elizabeth II across the water at Roanoke Island Festival Park. The right rainy morning, and the right sunset dinner.
RAINY DAY · NH 5 MIN · C 55 MIN
Tanger Outlets & a Movie
The outlet center is in Nags Head on the bypass, and the movie theater and bowling are a few minutes north in Kill Devil Hills. Between them and the game rooms at the house, a rainy day is handled.
Day Trips
DAY TRIPS · NH 45 MIN TO 1H 30 · C ADD 1H
Hatteras Island
South through Rodanthe, Waves, Salvo, Avon, and Buxton on a road with the ocean on one side and the sound on the other. Stop at the Chicamacomico Life-Saving Station in Rodanthe, surf or watch the kiteboarders at Canadian Hole, and end at the lighthouse and Hatteras Village.
DAY TRIPS · NH 3H · C 4H
Ocracoke by Ferry
Drive to the end of Hatteras Island, board the free state ferry for about an hour, and land on an island with one village, a short white lighthouse, wild ponies in a pen, and beaches that regularly top national lists. Leave early; it is a long, worthwhile day.
DAY TRIPS · NH 35 MIN · C 20 MIN
Duck & Corolla Village
For Nags Head guests: a northern day. Breakfast and the boardwalk in Duck, the lighthouse and Whalehead in Corolla, an afternoon horse tour, then dinner at Mike Dianna's before the drive back. For Corolla guests, this is your backyard.
Golf
GOLF · NH 10 MIN · C ON SITE
Golf on the Outer Banks
Nags Head Golf Links plays along the sound a few minutes from our Nags Head homes. The Currituck Club's Rees Jones course is inside the gates at The Currituck Club Grand, with guest access included. Sea Scape in Kitty Hawk and Kilmarlic on the mainland round out the week.